"THE COVERED WAGGON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18629, 9 February 1924, Page 11

"THE COVERED WAGGON.

W f What is described as one of th® greatest, waving' pictures presented to the world within recent times, -The Goviired ; Waggon;" iar to bo scr caned in Auckland at the Princess and Lyric Theatres simul- „■* , taneously for a season }' commencing on ? r-fr March ,• 14. Wherever thiii ■ subject has been offered, in New York, Chicago, Lon- ; don, the Continent and Sydney, it is said; "■■ to have been received an enthusiasm ' • that could have been Crossed' only by * masterpiece. $ "The Covered . Waggon ' is , an epic story of the advance of civilisa- "• tion into the western prairies of America. . : It is dedicated by Famous Players Lasky. . s the makers of Paramount pictures, ?to the pioneer countries of the world. The pic- : ture < will therefore have a particular >■ : interest to New Zealand el's, who are in;. a . large measure the descendants of a- , pioneer race. It is . interesting to note that in connection with " this i picture it was . screened by special request for the • late • President Harding, who spoke very highly of it, at White House. , With vivid touch it tells the story of the coming of the white man, ,of the hardships and ioijs. which he suffered in terra incognita, and of the terror* of a trail that was blazed in . defiance of the sinister red man. The* following are some of. the facts concerning the picture: Three thousand actors spent three months in the Utah desert, 80 miles from a railway. One-tenth of all the Indians under the protection of the United Stated Government were gathered together. Nino square .miles of .waste prairie were burned for the fire scenes, and 500 speciallyconstructed waggons were required. Five hundred bison were used in the buffalo hunt scenes. The scenes of, this buffalo hunt must have been performed and photographed with great daring .and ingenuity. With these facts in view gome idea of the enormous cost of the production may be conceived. "The Covered Waggon" is adapted from the novel of the same name by Emerson Hough. ■ The cast is all-star, the. leading roles being in the hands of; J. Warren Kerrigan • and Lois Wilson. The ; picture was recently reviewed at the King's Theatre, Wellington, before -a representative gathering of citizens.- ./ . -■ ■ ' ■ ============== ' \ -.v> -